A recent study looking at more than 4,000 former professional football players showed no connection between starting the sport before age 12 and higher rates of depression, anxiety, dementia or memory problems later in life, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Harvard University found.

The Football Players Health Study at Harvard University collected data from 4,189 former NFL athletes who spanned the ages of 24-89. While former professional players who started playing before age 12 had more cumulative football exposure (as in, total duration of their football career and more signs/symptoms of sports-related concussions during their career), there was no evidence that the group who started playing organized football younger had more cognitive, mood, sleep, cardiovascular or other health issues later in life, the researchers wrote.

These results, published in “Sports Medicine,” contrast with previous small studies from a decade ago. A series of prior studies evaluated a few dozen symptomatic former professional football players and found that those who started in the sport before age 12 had health problems – such as worse depression, greater apathy and structural brain differences – in their post-career years compared to those who started playing football at age 12 and after, says Douglas Terry, Ph.D., assistant professor and clinical neuropsychologist in the Department of Neurological Surgery and co-director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center.

Young Leaders Council launches Board Connect

Young Leaders Council, a Middle Tennessee nonprofit committed to broadening and strengthening Nashville’s volunteer leadership base, has launched its Board Connect platform, a tool to connect YLC graduates with nonprofit organizations across the region seeking qualified board members, board interns and volunteers.

Board Connect employs advanced matching technology to align the profiles of individuals and nonprofits based on shared interests and needs. Nonprofit organizations can create profiles on the platform to list available board and volunteer positions. YLC graduates can then easily search for and identify opportunities that match their experience and expertise, facilitating direct connections with organizations.

The platform is exclusively available to 2024 YLC program graduates with plans to extend access to all YLC alumni in early 2025. As of mid-August, 61% of YLC’s spring graduates have been matched or are in the process of being matched for a board position through Board Connect.

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Redfin: Many factors cause homebuyer pause

Pending home sales fell 6.9% during the four weeks ending Aug. 25, the biggest annual decline in nearly a year according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage.

That’s despite the median monthly U.S. housing payment falling to its lowest level since February as weekly average mortgage rates drop to their lowest level in 15 months.

Sales aren’t yet improving because many would-be homebuyers are playing the waiting game. Redfin agents report that house hunters are touring homes, but some of them are hesitant to buy right now. Would-be buyers are waiting for one or all of the following:

• Clarity on the NAR settlement. The new rules for how agents, buyers and sellers negotiate agent fees went into effect Aug. 17. Some would-be buyers and sellers are waiting to see how these rules play out before getting into the market.

• Lower home prices. Even though monthly payments are declining, home-sale prices are just a few thousand dollars shy of early July’s record high. That’s partly because inventory is losing momentum; the total number of homes for sale posted its smallest year-over-year increase in five months.

• Lower mortgage rates. Some homebuyers are hoping mortgage rates will decline more than they already have after Federal Reserve cuts interest rates in September. (It’s worth noting that if mortgage rates do drop significantly, it could lead to more competition and higher home prices.)

• The outcome of the presidential election. Some house hunters are hesitant to make a big purchase amid this year’s political uncertainty, and believe the outcome of the presidential election could change the course of economic, housing and other policies that affect their decision to move.

Realize, StoreMyTruck announce partnership

National truck parking operators We Realize Inc. and StoreMyTruck.com have announced a pending merger that will make the combined entities the largest truck parking operator in the world.

Cody Horchak and Keith Cristal, founders and CEOs of Realize and StoreMyTruck, respectively, made the announcement to a crowd of more than 350 commercial real estate and IOS investors and brokers at the National Association of Industrial Outdoor Storage’s inaugural Industrial Outdoor Storage Summit in Atlanta last month.

Realize, founded in 2023 by Horchak in Nashville, currently operates 13 truck parking lots in Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas. Horchak brings significant tenure in the technology space, having built and exited a software company before starting Realize, and is supported by chief financial officer Steve LaMontagne, who has more than 40 years of experience in real estate and financial advisory.

Since its inception in 2009 with Cristal at the helm, Atlanta-based StoreMyTruck has grown to include 71 locations across Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. Cristal, widely recognized as a pioneer of the truck parking industry, brings a wealth of operational and site acquisition expertise to the companies’ joint leadership team.

State Parks creates ‘How To’ for newcomers

Tennessee State Parks is launching a program to teach fundamental skills to new parks visitors who are interested in getting outdoors and participating in recreational activities.

The program, Tennessee State Parks “How To” series, is geared toward people who are unfamiliar with Tennessee’s state parks or new to engaging in outdoor recreation. The introductory-level programs allow newcomers to learn from scratch about such experiences as camping, hiking, kayaking and fishing.

Pickwick Landing State Park will be the first site of the recreation skill building sessions beginning Sept. 7. The sessions will be free of charge to participants, and all necessary equipment will be provided.

One program involved is named Tennessee State Parks “How To Explore” and teaches people how to navigate the parks, pick the best park for them, pick the best trail for them, whom to contact in an emergency, how to use a map and other steps.

The other seven programs are for hiking, camping, stargazing, backpacking, kayaking, fishing and bird watching. There will be two programs per month from Sept. 7-Dec. 28, and there is a 20-person limit for each session.

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GIVE grants aid rural workforce development

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission has announced the latest round of Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) grants to help prioritize learning opportunities in rural counties and enhance career and technical education statewide.

These grants will allocate $41 million to foster regional partnerships between Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology, community colleges and local industries.

The GIVE program is designed to address skills gaps in Tennessee’s workforce by supporting the development of career pathways that connect secondary education, postsecondary institutions and local employers.

Grants of up to $2 million are awarded to collaborative efforts that create or expand academic programs, develop work-based learning experiences or provide industry-recognized certifications in areas of high demand. This initiative not only aims to meet the current needs of employers but also to stimulate economic growth by ensuring that Tennessee’s education system is aligned with workforce requirements.

The third round of GIVE grants will fund 23 projects statewide. The 23 funded projects will impact 47 counties, including 6 economically distressed and 13 at-risk counties.

Belmont joins effort to cut STEM teacher shortage

Belmont University has been accepted into the Beyond100K national network, a coalition dedicated to addressing the shortage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics teachers in PreK-12 schools by the year 2043.

As part of this initiative, Belmont has committed to preparing 100 new PreK-12 educators in STEM disciplines by 2030, with a particular focus on underrepresented populations and candidates of color.

The university also plans to expose at least 150 high school students to rigorous college-level STEM instruction through dual enrollment summer programming, which includes University You for Metro Nashville Public School students and summer camps.

This initiative aligns with Belmont’s broader mission of developing diverse leaders of purpose, character, wisdom and transformational mindset, eager and equipped to improve the world.

ACT shorter, more flexible starting in 2025

The ACT will look a bit different – streamlined and shorter – for students starting next spring.

ACT recently announced the college admissions test will change in two significant ways in the spring of 2025. First, the science section will become optional. While English, reading, and math will remain as the core sections that generate a score that can be sent to colleges and universities, science will join writing as an additional section students can choose whether to take.

Students’ test options will be the core ACT; ACT plus science; ACT plus writing; or ACT plus science and writing.

Second, the length of the test will be reduced by up to one-third, depending on which version a student takes. The new core test of English, reading, and math will take two hours compared to the current test’s three. This will mean shorter passages in the reading and English sections and fewer questions in each.

The changes will take effect with national online testing in April 2025, followed by in-person testing in September 2025. School-day testing, such as the one scheduled for March for juniors, will not change until 2026.

Upcoming national ACT testing dates (all on Saturdays) include Sept. 14, Oct. 26 and Dec. 14, while Metro Nashville public high schools will be offering an online senior retake in October or November; check with your high school for specific dates and times.